Amy oh

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this one… I had it at a day long meditation class on Saturday. It was better than I thought it would be but might have needed two teabags, it has a very light apple taste and also seems very cinnamon-y. Might be worth buying if you didn’t have to use two teabags because that would make this a pretty expensive tisane.

Thank you to JC for sending me a sample of this. I’ve had a few silver needle puerhs and I’ve liked them immensely. When I first saw this I thought it was a green tea, anyway the leaves are very slender and beautiful looking. I probably should have used the whole sample I was given but I used 1/2 of it instead so I suspect this will be a very light tasting.

I steeped this in the Yixing and did a quick rinse, not even sure if that was necessary but oh well… I steeped it for around 30 seconds and it has a nice creamy flavor, reminds me a bit of almonds and is also a bit floral. Very delicate and nice for an evening.

2nd steep: I am getting the melon flavor here and I can kind of see why this tea is named snow mountain, it seems to have the essence of a fresh frosty mountain.

It’s really lovely, thanks for sharing JC! I may steep this a few more times tonight and will keep you posted. ;)

I went to go see an odd surrealist film tonight called “Alice” by Jan Svankmajer which is loosely based on the ALice in Wonderland book. It was complete with creepy dolls, stuffed animals, playing cards and skeletons. This is what pseudo intellectuals do for fun in San Francisco :P

Anyway after the film we went to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and I decided to try this. Its a mix of black tea and rooibos, and it has lots of spices including cinnamon and clove and maybe some nutmeg? It was very spicy and a bit too much for me… not sure I would get this again but I can see how it would be nice for cold weather. A little simple syrup made this more palatable.

Drinking some more of this sample pack…. I let it steep for a while longer today and I am upping the rating a bit more. I like this one although it reminds me a lot of a spicy chocolate orange. It smells really nice and it’s good for a dessert tea.

This is one of my favorite Japanese green teas and I will be getting some more when it runs out… see previous notes for more info. I am really enjoying it today, it’s so fresh and sweet tasting for a sencha.

This also came in the bulk section at Whole foods. It smells sooo good in the bag I had to try it! Roses and cardamom, lovely! But how would the flavor hold up?

I ended up steeping this for 4 minutes. It is very heavy on the cardamom, which I don’t mind, but you would have to be a big fan of the stuff. There’s a definite rose element and the ginger is more subdued. I tried mine with soymilk this morning and it IS a very interesting blend. The spices are very strong in this. I think the rich, malty assam lends a nice backdrop to this tea. Might also be interesting to try as a latte!

For me it might be more of an afternoon tea than a breakfast tea, but I like it! Glad I tried it, it’s yummy. :)

I got this is the loose leaf form at my local Whole foods where they have a bunch of teas in bulk. I haven’t been drinking a lot of rooibos lately but I thought I would give this one a shot.

It isn’t terribly fruity, I was hoping for something a bit more. The predominate note is rooibos but there is a hint of the mango passionfruit flavor here. I wonder if this would be good iced? I deided to drink it hot with soymilk and I think the creaminess of the soymilk is making it more dessert-like. Not too bad for a rooibos blend but I don’t know if I would seek this out again.

Tea of the afternoon here…. this is pretty nice for a shu. I am noticing today it seems a bit muddy but I haven’t been drinking much shu recently, I seem to have forgotten what they are like… ha

see previous notes for more info

I got this with my most recent order from Seven Cups. Shui Xian is one of my favorite types of oolong tea so I figured I would like this. It has a very nice roasty smell and a light brown tea liquor.

My first steep was for around 1 minute and is quite nice. It has some lovely caramel notes along with some fruitiness, a bit of plum I am thinking. A very mellow tea with a bit of woody flavor present. I should be able to get at least 3 steeps out of it. I like it but I think it needs to be steeped up at home in the yixing teapot!

Well, it’s a freakishly hot day here in San Francisco for November… no I am not complaining, I love it! I made some of this today in my Teavana glass tumbler (thank you exbf, wherever you are) and it is really good iced, I have to say. Happy Tuesday! :D

Sipdown!
This tea is now officially gone… not one of my favorites for sure but it has been hanging around in my cabinet so I thought I’d try to finish it off. See previous notes if interested.

Thanks to Fong Mong for this free sample. It’s been ages since I have cold brewed an oolong but I decided to do that last night. This definitely seems to have a roasted, slightly nutty flavor in addition to the nice vegetal quality I am getting. I won’t rate this since I never got to try it hot, but it’s good this way.

Now off to the farmer’s market for some vegetables!

Tea of the morning here, I have not dipped into any of my FF darjeelings in a while but was somehow in the mood for it this morning – tastes fresh, lovely and fruity still. See previous notes for more info.

Tea of the morning here… such a nice Saturday morning I am having! This was steeped for 4 minutes in the Beehouse teapot. This is a really nice morning tea, it provides a good amount of heft but is also rich and caramel-y with some of the characteristic “peppery” notes that you often find in black Yunnan teas. I am drinking mine in a big mug with some soymilk and later I will be going to the Asian Art Museum to check out some Chinese calligraphy!

This is a lovely little mini tuo. I decided to steep one up this afternoon to try it for the first time.

The tea liquor is very rich and creamy — I am definitely getting the date flavor here but it isn’t as fruity as some I’ve had. It’s earthy, sweet and fairly mild. It’s been a while since I’ve had a shu puerh and this is definitely mushroomy/dirty/loamy in character. Pretty good for an afternoon cuppa. I got three steeps out of it before I gave up, but I think it could keep going for a while.

Here’s an intriguing tea I got from my Seven Cups order. I have a friend who is obsessed with peacocks so perhaps I will have to give her some of this. :)

First steep at two minutes: this smells a bit winey, and ergo reminds me of a keemun. The flavor is a bit like some golden monkeys I’ve had. It’s a bit “yammy” and starchy but the aftertaste is slightly bitter with a hint of tobacco.

Second steep: I decided to go for around 45 seconds instead of the longer steep time. This has brought forth some more gentle notes of plantain and caramel. Definitely good to keep the steeping time short on this tea unless you like something really strong and bitter.

More to come soon…

My first order with Seven Cups, it was prompted by something they posted on their Twitter feed a few days ago about this tea. When I first opened up the bag I wasn’t sure if it was a green tea or a white tea, but it’s definitely green!

I’m not always such a fan of floral scented teas but this is really wonderful! The tea liquor is a nice golden yellow, and the fragrance wafting from it is just divine. I probably let this steep for a little too long because I forgot about it, but it’s still really lovely. It’s rich and sweet with a very hefty orchid flavor and a slight twinge of bitterness in the finish, I will try steeping for a little less next time to see if I can eradicate that. I was definitely not disappointed with this lovely tea! Great for a quiet afternoon moment.

I’ve had this sample for a while but evidently I forgot to post a tasting note for it until now…

This blend is definitely unique! It’s a bit smoky and also kind of… minty? tingly? Interesting element which I guess is from the mate. I think the elderberry also provides a nice fruity note here. There’s some black tea but it seems to be on the lighter side which is definitely nice. I am enjoying it this morning, not sure I will need any more but it’s definitely a good blend and will wake me up! :)

Tea of the afternoon here…

I have been seriously neglecting my tea log which is kind of a shame. Last night I was watching the storm coverage on CNN so I hope all the East Coast Steepsters are ok!

see previous notes for more info

Tea of the afternoon, this stuff is seriously good.

I was thinking about buying a milk frother but then I discovered that mixing this up in the Blendtec creates a really great froth so I think I’ll skip having to buy another appliance. I wish I could afford all the matcha flavors!

I didn’t sleep too well last night so I’m kind of glad I have some of this matcha to perk me up today.

Hmm, I added one scoop into around 6 oz. of soymilk and heated it up in the microwave. I can see the only issue with making these matcha soymilk drinks all day would be the calories! This smells very yummy and tastes pretty good. I am getting a lot of nutmeg here and the pumpkin pie spice. I think this might be kind of nasty if you just prepared it plain but it’s definitely good with something creamy. I think I prefer the macadamia nut matcha slightly, but this is a really good treat for this time of year.

Matcha – wake me up! :D

I finally broke down and ordered a couple of matchas from Red Leaf after reading all of the reviews on Steepster. I love macadamia nuts so I really wanted to try this!

You get a little wooden scoop with your order from Red Leaf. I measured out one scoop and mixed it with 8 oz. of soymilk, warmed in the microwave. My tea was kind of lumpy because I was attempting to stir it with a coffee stirrer and not a whisk or anything. I was amazed at how good the flavor was here. It’s very rich and nut-like, I got the macadamia for sure. I might have made a mistake by having this so late in the day, but it sure is good. I can see how this would make an incredible dessert or whipped cream.

OMG! It is good!

This is a great evening time tisane… it was very good after I went to the movies tonight and then had a huge bowl of vegetarian ramen. Just the right amount of ginger but not overwhelming. I really love this with some soymilk. :)

For some reason our building has no water today and I tried calling the landlord but got no response. I was wondering how I was going to make tea until some nice lady on Twitter reminded me I had some emergency water stashed away in the closet.

This is a nice hefty tea for the morning with a bit of smoke in it. I am hoping it will kick start me a bit – looks like I’ll need to go to the gym today to at least take a shower. :)